— a blog of Libyan arts, language, literature, and scholarship —

Tag: tebu

Another important community in Libya, which we mention on this blog for the first time, are the Tebu, who live mainly in southern Libya. Essentially nothing, as is repeated here all too often, has been published about the Tebu of Libya in Western scholarship [1]. Nevertheless, the Tebu have come increasingly into the news as a result of conflicts in southern Libya. Also, given the restrictive language and minority-related policies of the regime and subsequent turmoil, little in Arabic was produced in Libya, either.

Happily an Arabic book about the Tebu in Libya has appeared recently (as Lameen informs me), The Book of the Tebu by ‘Abd al-Mun‘im al-Maḥjūb. I haven’t found a copy yet, so can’t vouch for it, but draw attention to it here as it is a good sign that Libyan scholars and publishers are devoting resources to the study of communities such as the Tebu. Here is part of its introduction: